The Hand of Confession – Chapter 200

Volume 7: Days of Stargazing at the Inn

Xiaobao’s Mom

A head? Whose head?

Shen Maomao said through gritted teeth, “Is it targeting me?!”

Lou Jingmo patted her shoulder. “Looks like you’re the only one who can return it to Xiaobao.”

Shen Maomao bent down and reached out her right hand to grab the ball.

The instant her hand touched the ball, the yellow and white ball instantly turned into a head covered in blood and dirt, baring its teeth and snapping at her fingers.

“F#ck!!!!” Shen Maomao’s pupils contracted. She yanked her hand back, plopped onto the ground, and scrambled back several meters in the blink of an eye, kicking her legs.

Messy hair was tangled around the head, covering its entire face. Only a pair of eyes showing nothing but whites and a gaping, bloody mouth¹ peeked out from between the strands of hair.

Lou Jingmo grabbed her at once and pulled her up from the ground. “What’s wrong?!”

Shen Maomao pointed at the head rolling towards the large room, almost speechless.

When she blinked again, she realized there was no head at all; it was clearly just an ordinary ball.

“Damn it…” She was sure she hadn’t been seeing things. “That ball, it turned into a head right before my eyes and was about to bite me!!”

Golden Retriever said, “A head? Whose head?”

“I didn’t see clearly…” Shen Maomao felt extremely wronged. “It had hair all over its head, and it was so scary. How would I dare to take a closer look?”

Lou Jingmo: “Long hair? It must be a woman, right? Was it Hong-jie?”

Shen Maomao shook her head. “I don’t think so… The hair was a bit yellowish, like it had been dyed. Hong-jie hasn’t dyed her hair.”

Golden Retriever said hesitantly, “Do you think… it could be the missing person’s?”

Shen Maomao’s heart skipped a beat, and she looked at Lou Jingmo.

Lou Jingmo said thoughtfully, “Let’s go up the mountain today and see if we can find anything.”

After that episode, Shen Maomao didn’t dare touch the ball again. Golden Retriever was bolder and helped her pick it up. Perhaps because boys have more yang energy², nothing strange happened this time.

But just as he picked up the ball, a child’s crying suddenly came from the large room—it was Xiaobao, crying and fussing, looking for his ball. The sound was so loud the entire hallway could hear it clearly.

Golden Retriever immediately felt like the ball had become a hot potato.

Lou Jingmo gave him a push. “Don’t be afraid. Go return it to them.”

Golden Retriever shivered. “Will it be okay?” Lou Jingmo said calmly, “I’m here. What are you afraid of?”

“With you saying that, Xiao Lou-jie, I’ll go!” Golden Retriever, like a majestic large dog, puffed out his chest and walked to the room with the loudest crying, then raised his hand and knocked.

An impatient voice came from inside, “Who is it?! Hold on!”

Xiaobao’s mom yanked the door open, her face full of hostility as she looked at him. “What do you want??”

Golden Retriever handed her the ball. “Your Xiaobao’s ball was left outside. I picked it up for him.”

Xiaobao’s mom frowned, snatched the ball back, and asked, “My Xiaobao hasn’t been out all day. How did his ball end up in your hands?”

Golden Retriever: “? No… We put the ball downstairs together yesterday. Who knows why it appeared at our door again this morning.”

Xiaobao’s mom snorted coldly. “Who knows about that? Curious about a child’s toy, are you? You made my son cry for so long his throat is hoarse!”

Golden Retriever was so angry he laughed. “Do I look like I’ve never seen a ball before?”

Xiaobao’s mom shot him a glare and slammed the door shut with a “bang.”

“What kind of person is that?! Is she sick in the head?!” Golden Retriever almost kicked the door. Shen Maomao quickly stopped him. “Jin-ge³, Jin-ge, calm down!”

The crying from inside the room gradually stopped. Lou Jingmo patted both their shoulders. “Let’s go. Wash up, eat, and then look for the person. Don’t waste time here.”

Golden Retriever glared resentfully at the room number 318, muttering as he followed the two to wash up.

After washing up, they took the elevator that always stopped on the second floor, went downstairs for breakfast, and saw a few unfamiliar NPCs.

The temperature on the first floor had returned to normal; the air conditioning should have been fixed.

Hong-jie was also downstairs. Shen Maomao found a seat, then cheekily ran over to her side and asked, “Hong-jie, what activities do we have today?”

“Today is free activity. You can go to the astronomical research center if you want, or stay in the inn and play games. But the mountains are dangerous, so it’s best not to go when there are few people. I’ve said what I need to say. If you’re bored and insist on going up the mountain to play, then watch out for your own safety. If an accident happens, you can’t blame me.”

“Got it, thanks, Hong-jie.”

Since it was a free activity day, the three of them didn’t inform anyone else. After finishing their meal and tidying up, they went straight out.

The morning sun wasn’t too strong yet, and the temperature wasn’t very high. Shen Maomao put on her baseball cap and took a deep breath.

The air in the mountains was exceptionally fresh, mixed with the refreshing fragrance of some flower that soothed her heart, making her feel calm. She felt like she could achieve immortality and ascend to the heavens in the next second.⁴

Besides the three of them, some other people also planned to go up the mountain, including Xiao Huzi [Little Moustache] and his roommate Guo Zilian [Square Face].

The group didn’t deliberately team up; they just headed up the mountain in waves, one after another. The view was much wider during the day. The mountain lost its sense of mystery and appeared more clearly before their eyes.

From the path in the middle, they could easily see rows of tree trunks on both sides. The shadows of the leaves fell on the ground, shielding various plants under the trees from the sun.

A small squirrel leaped down from a treetop, its large tail like a parachute, allowing it to land steadily on the ground. It held a pinecone and curiously sized up these tall humans. A flock of colorful birds flew in a V-formation⁵, circling in the sky above them, occasionally letting out cheerful chirps…

At first glance, all of this seemed very harmonious. But on closer thought, it was completely illogical and unrealistic. Amidst the beauty, there was an undercurrent of strangeness that made one’s scalp tingle.

Xiao Huzi deliberately slowed down, leading Guo Zilian, and waited for them to catch up.

Their path forward was blocked by them. Shen Maomao looked up at him and asked, “Something wrong?”

Xiao Huzi said, “We’re in 304, the one next to the bathroom. We found a lot of long hair in our room today.”

Two grown men, where would long hair come from? So when he woke up this morning and found the messy long strands of hair, he almost peed his pants from fright.

“Later, I went to the room opposite us. They said nothing unusual happened in their room, but I still feel something’s not right, so I wanted to ask you guys…”

Lou Jingmo replied, “We found the ball at our door.”

“We clearly took that ball to the front desk, but it appeared at our doorstep again this morning.” Seeing that Lou Jingmo wasn’t stingy about sharing her experience, Shen Maomao added, “And sometimes, that ball turns into a human head before my eyes. The head’s face is also covered in long hair, and the hair is yellowish…”

As if she remembered something, she suddenly asked, “By the way, is the hair in your room yellowish?”

If so, then that hair most likely came from that human head.

Xiao Huzi shook his head. “No, it’s pure black…”

Alright, then it’s not the same person.

Guo Zilian, who had been silent as gold⁶ the whole time, suddenly spoke up, “What kind of yellow? Lemon yellow or chrome yellow?”

Shen Maomao was taken aback, realizing he was asking about the color of the head’s hair. She quickly said, “What yellow are you talking about? It’s not exactly yellow… more like a deep flaxen, or brown? Or maybe an earthy yellow? Anyway, if you don’t look closely, you’d think it was black.”

Guo Zilian asked again, “How long was the hair?”

Shen Maomao tried hard to recall. “Quite long… a good bit longer than the head itself, maybe chest-length? And it was a bit curly at the ends…”

Guo Zilian stated confidently, “It’s Mrs. Wang⁷.”

Mrs. Wang… that’s Xiaobao’s mom.

Golden Retriever shivered.

Shen Maomao, beside him, said faintly, “Is this the legendary ‘I’ll detach my head for you to kick as a ball’? Xiaobao’s mom spoils her child way too much, doesn’t she?”

Golden Retriever: “…”

Lou Jingmo scrutinized Guo Zilian. “Are you sure?”

Guo Zilian nodded. When it came to his area of expertise, he became quite talkative. “I’m an oil painter, so I habitually observe human bodies. Among the women in this inn, only Mrs. Wang has dyed her hair dark brown. She probably had a perm a long time ago, so the hair on top is straight, and only the ends are curly.”

Xiao Huzi couldn’t help but tease, “Bro, you sound more like a hairdresser from a salon.”

Guo Zilian pressed his lips together and inexplicably got angry. “My observation is not wrong. This is what I’m best at; I absolutely wouldn’t make a mistake.”

Xiao Huzi scratched the back of his head. “Why are you angry? I was just joking. Sorry, I didn’t mean to question you.”

“It’s okay.” Guo Zilian closed his mouth, reverting to his previous taciturn self⁸.

Shen Maomao said, “Thanks, you two big brothers. What are you planning to do? We’re going to try and find the girl who went missing yesterday. Want to come with us?”

Xiao Huzi waved his hand. “No, no, we’re going to the mountaintop to check out that astronomical research center. You guys go ahead and search, but the chances of finding her are probably quite slim.”

Shen Maomao smiled. “As long as we have a clear conscience.”

Xiao Huzi and Guo Zilian disappeared from their sight. Lou Jingmo, beside them, suddenly said, “That person has a strong smell of blood on him.”

Shen Maomao: “Huh? Who? Who killed someone?”

“…Xiao Lou-jie probably doesn’t mean someone killed in this instance, but that he’s killed someone in real life.” Golden Retriever was a bit curious. “Which one? The man with the mustache?”

Lou Jingmo: “It’s Guo Zilian.”

Shen Maomao: “Who???”

Guo Zilian? But he looks so honest, usually listless and doesn’t talk…

Could this all be his disguise?

“Artists are all madmen,” Lou Jingmo said, watching his retreating figure. “And if I’m not mistaken, he’s already developed an intent to kill Xiao Huzi.”

Shen Maomao: “??? Why?”

The people in the game were pulled in because they carried sins. They’ve already ended up like this, yet some still commit crimes against the wind, killing for inexplicable reasons?

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The author has something to say:

This batch of comments is excellent—

“Luan Luan missing a ‘heart’ becomes Mao Mao.”⁹

“The ball implies that a naughty person like Maomao is going to ‘cool ball’.”¹⁰

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